Secondary Protocol
by Optimus Magnus
Summary: After being forced off Earth, the Autobots live a life of peace on Cybertron.  But when the adopted human child of Optimus Prime is kidnapped...
1. A New Game

**Secondary Protocol**

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"Okay, the game is Poker" Optimus said and dealt the cards

Prime, Magnus, Rodimus and Kup were at a table in Magnus's quarters, a few bottles of high grade Energon were already open and there was plenty more in the fridge.  A large table with glasses and snacks was the playing surface and each Autobot bar Prime was grumbling

"You have an unfair advantage in this game Optimus" Kup grizzled

"Oh?" his leader said with humour

"That face plate of yours covers your mouth so we can't see any of the subtle movements in your face" Kup continued 

"Oh shut up and play, old man" Rodimus said and looked at his cards

Magnus smiled: he knew the best way to figure out Prime was to watch his eyes, slight pigment changes indicated different moods and he was the only one who could pick it out during a game

This little ritual had started with Prime, Ironhide and Prowl on earth after Spike taught them to play, but since the death of the latter two, Prime had invited Rodimus, Magnus and Kup into the little club and they enjoyed it but usually 'lost their shirts' as humans said, but they were getting better.

"Okay, Jokers wild" Prime said and picked up his cards

[Let's see, two 2's, and two Kings.  Keep.  The 3 can go] Prime made his strategy

[YES.  Three 9's and an Ace.  Bye, bye 2] Rodimus was equally pleased

[Damn it.  I swear he rigs these cards] Kup grouched: he got a 7, Jack, 3, 2, 5: all totally useless

[Your ass is mine] Magnus was really happy: three Aces, two Kings.

"Okay, the opening bet is ten" Rodimus threw in the chips; the others did likewise and replaced their cards

"I fold" Kup said and showed his hand

"HA!" Rodimus broke the first rule of poker: never let an opponent what you feel

"Okay, I up you both for 1, 000" Magnus said

"Whoa, I gotta take the lady out tomorrow.  I'm out" Rodimus said.

"I'll raise you, 5, 000" Prime was confident

"I'll raise you 10, 000" Magnus said and put all his money in the middle

"I'll see you: 20, 000" Prime said

The tension was thick now as Prime laid his cards out: three Kings and two 2's.

"Full house, top that Magnus"

But Magnus just grinned and laid out his own hand down "Full house again, Aces beat 2's" he said and grabbed his loot from the table

"You, damn it" Prime griped and took a long glass of Energon.

Kup took a drag on his cigar; Rodimus did likewise with a cigarette but Magnus settled for a victory drink.  This game went on for a further five hours, until the four of them were totally rat arsed and singing at the top of their voices and out of tune 'We are the Champions' at 3 in the morning.

*************

Kup was the first to wake up, on Magnus's couch with a bottle of Ener-Gin in his hand, he looked bleary eyed around, wondering where Rodimus went

"Shit, I musta been really pissed last night" he said and dropped the bottle.

He staggered through the room and saw Prime passed out on the table, empty gin, scotch, and beer bottles lay around his feet and Magnus was on his bed snoring with a femme that had appeared in the night.  At second glance Kup recognised her as Avari, Magnus's girlfriend

"Lucky bastard" Kup grumbled and staggered back to the couch and turned on the morning news from Earth

There wasn't much to hear, usual bullshit; wars in little independent nations that wanted to be free of their main states and are willing to kill to achieve it.

"Ugghhh" a sickly sounding groan from the couch: Prime was awake

"If you feel half as bad as you look then you will feel like shit" Kup said as the Autobot leader stumbled into the room

"hjhglgljgkj" Prime mumbled some incoherent gibberish

"Please Repeat Request", the machine said

"Ener-coffee.  Extra strong" Prime said

The machine created the highly energising beverage for Prime and he drank it in less than a few seconds.  The high power drink soon put Prime to rights and all he needed was a few minutes of wake up time

"Must thank Perceptor for making this stuff" Prime said and sat down on the couch to join Kup

"They're still trying to blow each other up?" Prime asked

"Yeah" Kup answered

Prime looked downcast: the humans had voted that the Transformers were no longer welcome on Earth and had effectively banished them from it.  At first some of the Autobots were bitter and angry: but they soon learnt to live with it.  Spike and his family had gone with the Autobots back to Cybertron.  Also joining them had been a young stowaway that had been found by Prime: a girl a few years older than Daniel.

Her name was Sharon: the Decepticons had killed her parents but the Autobots had saved her from the same fate.  Since then she had lived in foster homes, some nice, others a living hell.  When she heard the Autobots were all leaving Earth, she jumped at the first opportunity to go with them by stowing away on Metroplex before he and Fortress Maximus left.  After being discovered, she had lived with Optimus Prime

"Makes me wish just once we'd been selfish and stayed on Earth" Kup said

"Yeah, but then the humans would of declared war upon us.  A war with them _and_ the Decepticons are the last things we need.  Fortunately we are in the third golden age up here," Prime said

Kup said nothing and went for a coffee of his own: he learnt that it was never a good move to separate a Prime and his coffee after a night on the piss

"Ung, can't you boys take the poker game to Rodi's place?" Avari asked as she tried to get some normal Energon from the synthesiser

"Sorry Avari, we'll clean up before we leave" Optimus said

"You'd better" she said in a low voice

Kup looked at Optimus, not understanding the full extent of Avari's wrath.  Optimus leaned over and explained it

"We don't want to create disharmony in Magnus's home Kup, be fair, most of the mess is ours" Prime said

"Fine, but punish Rodimus for skipping duty here" Kup said as he began cleaning the table

"Will do, old man" Optimus said and chuckled

*************************

After about an hour of cleaning, the two wayward Transformers headed out to leave Avari and Magnus alone; it was their anniversary tomorrow

Prime hummed as he approached the small school that had been set up for Daniel and Sharon.  He was however stopped by Streetwise

"Sir, we just received a transmission from the Earth authorities," he said

"About what?" Prime asked

"Well, it regards Sharon actually, her foster parents have found out she's missing" he explained

[Only took them eight weeks] Prime thought darkly

"They want her back" Streetwise finished, awaiting the reaction of his leader

Now most Transformers are reasonable, and most would agree that Optimus Prime was one of the most reasonable beings to exist in the galaxy; but he was also in some ways, a parent and most parents when it comes to the wellbeing of their child: become highly irrational and totally unreasonable.  Prime was no different

"WHAT?" he bellowed

Streetwise couldn't help but flinch; he and others often forgot that Optimus Prime wasn't just a diplomat; he was a warrior as well, and a scary one at that

"Those two incompetents: I wouldn't trust them with a goddamn goldfish let alone my child" Optimus roared

Streetwise had to talk some sense into Prime before he did something he'd regret

"Let Sharon decide then, it's obvious that you and the foster parents won't come to anything amicable on the subject" he offered a suggestion

Prime simmered down; although Streetwise could still see that he was really pissed off underneath by the way Prime's fist was clenched.

[You'd think Galvatron's neck was in it] Streetwise thought

"That sounds reasonable enough" he said and continued on his way to the school

Streetwise sighed in relief and sped back to the Protectobot Main Building where a coffee and a won bet was waiting for him: Blades and First-Aid had bet him nearly 2000 credits that he couldn't tell Prime the news with out the leader taking a swing at him

[Thank Primus for my reasoning skills] he said to himself as he drove home

****************

Carly was in the process of explaining some scientific reactions when Rewind came in with his eyes wide

"Yes Rewind?" she asked

"Uh, Optimus Prime is here, he wants to speak with Sharon" the small Transformer said, eying the girl in question

"I didn't break anything Carly, I swear" Sharon said

"I don't think you're in trouble Sharon" Rewind said as he took the young girl outside

"Hi Sharon" Prime said

"Dad, what's wrong?" she asked

Prime transformed and opened his cab door

"Hop in, there is something important for us to discuss" Prime answered

"Okay" Sharon said and cast a confused look back at Rewind as she got in

Once she was safely buckled up, Optimus began to drive to the main communications room.  As soon as they were out of sight, Rewind went back inside and slumped down against a wall

"Rewind, what the hell just happened?" Carly asked

"Oh Primus please let him be reasonable about the girl, just once" Rewind said

"REWIND!" Carly bellowed

"Aggghhh, sorry" he said

"Well, I'm waiting" Carly hissed

"We just got a hail from Washington D.C., Sharon's foster parents want her back: they realised she was missing a few days ago" he explained

"Prime won't agree to that, and you know it" she responded 

"I know, which is why I am going to kill Streetwise" Rewind said and grumbled

"He suggested to Prime that he let Sharon decide if she wants to go back to Earth or not" Rewind explained

Daniel groaned out loud

"If she says yes, what will Prime do, she's the first real reason he's had to keep himself going all this time.  With Elita's death and the banishment from Earth…" Carly stopped

"If he loses her, then he's going to flip out" Spike, who had been listening from another room, put his two cents worth in

"Hey come on now, Sharon loves Optimus like a father.  It'll take some drastic action to make her want to leave" Daniel, ever the optimist, piped up at that point

They all prayed his was right: Optimus had the loyalty of almost ten thousand well trained and superbly armed troops, not to mention battleships and other weapons that would reduce human armies to ash in seconds.  Thus far it had been a deep level of kindness towards other living beings and his honour that had kept Prime from just ignoring humans and trampling on them like the Decepticons.  Or using the force of his army against them, but everyone, even Prime has a breaking point.  His lover had been killed, many of his oldest friends murdered and maimed and he himself had been killed and resurrected.  Then came the exile from Earth

When they were leaving, the Autobots had been abused and spat on, one far left wing group had even gone so far as to splatter fake blood on Prime and label him a murderer.  Carly remembered to look in his eyes when he had been called that, not anger, but anxiety, fear and sadness.  Words had a deep effect on Prime

"Please stay Sharon, for all our sakes" Rewind said as he took out some Energon and drank it

*********************

Blaster and Ultra-Magnus waited patiently for Optimus Prime to arrive in the comm room; on the screen were the President of the United States, the Secretary General of the U.N. and some military brass from many other countries in the background.  Right at the front were two people, a husband and wife awaiting the arrival of Optimus Prime

"Well, we're waiting" the President said

"Hold your horses dude, the main man is never late on these events" Blaster replied

"If he isn't here in twenty minutes I'll…" the president started

"You'll what, Mr. Ryan?" Magnus asked from the console

"Don't get mouthy me toaster head" the President shot back

Before an argument could develop between the human and Ultra Magnus, Optimus Prime and Sharon walked in.  Prime saw Blaster and Magnus looking at him

"You two, out" he said and thumbed at the door

Blaster and Magnus took the hint and left quickly.  After a pause, Prime shook his head and sighed

"Rodimus, I know you're on the roof, get down and piss off" Prime said

A few seconds later, a loud thump sounded as an orange, red and yellow lump hit the ground.  Sharon laughed loudly as the bruised second in command left

"Uncle Rodimus, you ought to know that trick doesn't work on dad" she called to the retreating Rodimus Prime

Gasps and hushed whispers, which Prime's sensitive audio receptors picked up anyway, went awash over the humans on the screen

"He's brainwashed her"

"Has she been made into a cyborg to fit in?"

"Maybe they hurt and tortured her"

The last comment made Optimus snarl loudly, a deep and frightening sound

"To business gentlemen, if we can" Optimus said through clenched 'teeth'

"Give us back our daughter you metal freak", the mother screeched

Sharon just shook her head in disgust at the woman on the screen and frowned at her

"Please rephrase that request" Prime said

The father stepped up this time, although he spoke in a more polished manner with more clarity, his tone of voice meant the same thing

"My wife and I would like out foster daughter back, Optimus Prime.  There was a special state of emergency in our country for the past 2 months, total lockdown.  No one knew where anyone was" he explained

"And this affects me how?" Sharon asked

"I'm getting to that Sharon dear, once the emergency state was lifted, we discovered she was missing and after speaking to some people at the space centre, we discovered that she was on Cybertron with you" he added

Prime remained silent up to that point

"Sharon, the choice is yours.  If you wish to return to Earth, I will gladly take you there" Prime said, he was upset but he wouldn't force Sharon into doing anything she didn't want to

"Oh that's an easy one dad, I'm staying right here" Sharon said, turned on her heel and walked out of the room.

Prime smiled and looked at the stunned people on the screen

"Well, I think that is settled.  Goodbye all" Prime said

"Wait a minute, refusal to return her will result in an act of war against all of Earth" President Ryan warned

That comment caused Optimus Prime to burst out into hysterical laughter so loud it hurt the human's ears.  The sound lasted for about ten minutes

"_You_ are threatening _me_ with military action.  Look around me Mr. Ryan, I have thousands of troops, battleships and powerful weapons at my disposal: my planet itself is armed" Prime gloated

He then leaned in closer to the screen; his usually light blue eyes were almost black now

"I have two of the most powerful portable battle stations in the galaxy under my command.  If you come for Sharon, and try to take her against her will, you will suffer the wrath of unstoppable enemy" he hissed, making his position clear

Then, without ceremony, Prime cut the transmission and blocked the signal from Earth.  Grumbling to himself, he left the room and went to take Sharon back to school.  On a small perch up in the roof of the communications room, Laserbeak sat and smiled to himself in spite of the current condition of the Decepticons: he had just found Prime's weakness.  With a smirk of triumph, he winged it out of the room and back into space

*********************

Back on Earth, President Ryan was shaking his head in contemplation: he knew Optimus Prime would never have hurt the girl, to do so would be a total violation of his character.  Ryan also knew that Prime was right: although Autobot technology had helped Earth's defences considerably, they were still at best, using peashooters against the Autobot army, who had almost 9 million years of military experience between them.

"And that still leaves Metroplex and Fortress Maximus, those two alone would flatten us like bugs" he sighed as he looked at their position realistically

"Well, what are you waiting for, rally the troops" Sharon's foster father said

"A full assault would simply be a waste of lives and resources", Ryan said, and if Prime wasn't lying about Cybertron, then they were well and truly screwed

"But that metal maniac has our child" the wife said

"Let's get something straight shall we: I have known Optimus Prime for a long time, he is not a maniac: he is a kind and caring being" Ryan looked at the pair before him

"I also know that he does not make idle threats or strike first.  If we do not attack him or his people, then he will leave us in peace"

"And if we attack him?" a general asked

"Then, to use his own words, we shall face the wrath of an unstoppable enemy" the President said and went to his office

***************************

On the burnt out husk that was Char; Galvatron sat upon his throne with a look of burning hatred

"I must find a weakness in Optimus Prime, not just his men, but someone who means more to him that his own life.  Elita 1 is dead and his other friends are almost as powerful as he is" Galvatron was alone in the room, the other Decepticons were elsewhere while he plotted and schemed

As he schemed and plotted, Laserbeak came in and landed on his leaders shoulder

"What is it Laserbeak?" Galvatron asked

Laserbeak transformed and slotted himself into the date reader in the throne Galvatron sat upon and played what he saw on a small screen attached to the arms of the chair.  Galvatron's face went from slightly puzzled to almost over joyed when he realised that Laserbeak had dropped a perfect subject in his lap

"That girl; if I take her I shall be able to bend Prime to my will with ease.  Well done Laserbeak" he congratulated his small spy and sent him back to Soundwave

"Cyclonus" Galvatron summoned his most trusted ally and best soldier

"Yes my lord?" Cyclonus addressed Galvatron

"Cyclonus I want you to assemble the best team of infiltration and special forces.  No more the five, so the very best" Galvatron ordered

"Yes sir" he said and went to complete the task

An hour later, five Decepticons of varying sizes stood before him in the main departure bay.  Galvatron examined the first one, a large seeker type with thick armour and a weapon almost as big as his arm

"Name?  Rank?  Function?" Galvatron said

"Nightflight.  Lieutenant.  Infiltration transportation, sir" the large seeker had a deep voice

"And how, pray tell, does such a large mechanism such as yourself evade detection?" Galvatron asked

"Like this" Nightflight then went completely black, no outlines, markings or anything and even though Galvatron knew the seeker was speaking, he heard nothing

"Impressive" Soundwave intoned, not even he could pick up Nightflight's voice

"Okay, you, same question" Galvatron addressed a robot more his size

"Slipstream, private, saboteur, sir" this one sounded a little high horse

"Watch that tone with me" Galvatron warned

"Sir!" Slipstream went into butt-kissing mode

"Brown nose" someone muttered

Galvatron shook his head and came up an even smaller mech; this one was about the height of Swindle, with a long barrelled weapon and a scope almost as long

"Dead Centre.  Private.  Assassin" he drawled, his eyes seemed sharp

[Well fuck me, I would never have guessed] Galvatron thought sarcastically and moved on

"Nitron Charge.  Private.  D-" he was stopped by Galvatron

"Let me guess, demolitions" he said, Nitron Charge nodded

[That pack of Energon-bombs on his back would level a small city] Galvatron thought and came to the last of the five mech army

This one was of average height with a canon on his arm and a rifle slung over his back and a nasty scowl: Galvatron liked him on the spot

"Counter Strike.  Commander.  Deep infiltration and leader of the unit assembled before you" he said

Galvatron looked over the men and realised that Cyclonus may have assembled the most deadly unit of the Decepticon Army: they had a stealth mode of transport, and as Counter Strike explained, they were all equipped with devices akin to the late Autobot, Mirage, a cloaking device

"Well men, I have a mission for you.  Although it may not seem like it needs your high quality talents, I will be frank.  Bumbling soldiers should not do the work of infiltrators" he said

The group remained quiet as Galvatron paced in front of them, they were awaiting his orders

"I want you to capture a human living on Cybertron: her name is Sharon and she is the adopted child of Optimus Prime" this last part caused some whispers to rise from the group

"I know when I said capture a human you thought anyone could do it.  But to snatch a particular human from under the nose of Optimus Prime, that requires the skills of all present today" he boosted the egos of the small team

Counter Strike stepped forward and saluted his commanding officer with reverence and respect; his men followed suit

"We shall either come back with her or not at all" he promised

"Good, go" Galvatron ordered

Nightflight transformed into his plane mode, a rather large but flat bomber of black.  He opened a hatch at his rear: four vehicle stations were revealed, also a weapons rack: Slipstream transformed first, his alt mode was a rather flat and unobtrusive hover craft.  He floated in to his bay and was secured.

Next was Dead Centre; his alt mode was like an anti-aircraft placement with wheels; he drove in after securing his long rifle to its proper place

Nitron Charge was an APC with a turret on the roof which housed an Anti-Energon weapon.  Once Counter Strike made sure all of his team mate's explosives were properly secured, he unslung his own weapon.

But Galvatron stopped him

"What kind of weapon is that, I've never seen it before in the armouries" he asked

Before Counter Strike could reply, the Sweeps brought in a sorry looking mechanism not of Transformer origin

"He was trying to raid the Energon stores" one of the Sweeps said

"The penalty for that here is death you little toy soldier" Galvatron rose his gun as he spoke

"No, Lord Galvatron, may I?" Counter Strike asked

Galvatron saw that the commando was brandishing his rifle like he wanted to use it

"Very well" he agreed to the request; seeing was better than hearing where a weapon is concerned

Counter Strike ordered the Sweeps to be at least 25 feet from the robot victim.  He aimed for the head and fired: a blue bolt discharged from the rifle and hit the other machine: the other robot shook for a few seconds and then fell over: stone cold dead.

Then using a stick, A Sweep opened him up and lifted it up: Galvatron's eyes glinted when the ash which was once the inner workings of the criminal's mind fell out

"An Electro Magnetic Pulse gun, I designed, and built it myself: we all have small  pistols of such calibre, smaller models do less damage but a shot to the head or main chest unit is always fatal" Counter Strike said and did as his brethren

Galvatron watched as his team speed into the sky, knowing that this plan would cause Optimus Prime to resort to desperate measures…

…Galvatron was later going to wish he had never tried to test Optimus Prime


	2. Perfect Operation

The flight took the infiltration team almost 8 hours, but they were professionals and it didn't bother them at all.  Each one amused himself in some way that was quiet and productive.  They went on like this until Nightflight woke them up with an intercom message

"Okay guys, I'm going stealth now.  We're about a million miles to Cybertron so keep cool" he advised

They all agreed and went totally silent as Nightflight's stealth system was activated.  Another twenty minutes later, he announced they were in a more desolate area of Cybertron, a Ghetto of sorts and it would be safe to land in this area

"Okay boys, one last thought, cover those Decepticon insignias.  That way if we're seen, it won't be glaringly obvious who we are" Counter Strike ordered

Upon landing in an abandoned warehouse with no roof and disembarking: Counter Strike lined his men up and outlined the plan

"Nitron Charge: I want you to rig this building" he paused and pointed to a building on a map: the Central Command Tower of Iacon

"With explosives, if you level it, great, 2 targets in one raid.  While that is going down, Slipstream I want you to completely screw the security system" he added

"Can I really go to town on it?" he asked

"Make me a masterpiece" Counter Strike said, letting Slipstream be artistic got the best results

"Oh this will be fun" the saboteur grinned

"Dead Centre; you stay here with Nightflight, if anyone gets nosey here, terminate with extreme prejudice" he said

Dead Centre looked a little annoyed

"Be prepared however to knock off anyone following us back here, even Prime.  Galvatron may get angry if we kill him but it is my experience that if an opportunity presents itself, you take it" Counter Strike finished

The sharpshooter/assassin looked a little more pleased with that in mind

"Okay, I'm going for the girl: Laserbeak and Buzzsaw gave me intelligence on her.  I know where she lives and where she recreates" he said and handed out preset chronometers

"What are these?" Slipstream asked

"Watches dumbass" Dead Centre muttered

"Quiet.  These are set with a limit of 48 hours.  That is how long I have to get the kid before I have to pull out and try again" Counter Strike said

His team nodded and put the watches on

"Okay, go" Counter Strike said

Nitron Charge and Slipstream turned invisible and transformed.  Each one sped off to a different target: Nitron Charge went towards Iacon with the full intention of turning into a pile of rubble and Slipstream went towards the Iron Hide memorial Security Spire to turn the otherwise well kept security of the Autobots into a Keystone Bots routine.

Counter Strike went towards the main area of the city where all the commerce and trade went on: although he was not invisible: it was too busy for him to use the device, the revellers would run into him and then he'd be caught and that would be unprofessional, and if there was one thing Counter Strike hated, it was unprofessional operating.  So he donned a phoney Autobot symbol and walked freely among the city streets with a small image of the girl he was after posted in his left optic

[Let's see, there can't be too many humans on Cybertron since the Autobots got their marching orders from the Earth governments] he surmised and as he looked around the shopping area

He was about to start snooping in buildings when he saw her: the girl was small even for human standards but Counter Strike realised that she was a child and that was the reason for her reduced stature.  Unfortunately she was in some heavy company: Rodimus Prime and Sky Fire.

[I may be strong, but I'm not stupid: those two will tear me in two] he thought it wise to follow them and observe where they took her

Counter Strike spent the next four hours following Rodimus and the other Autobot around Iacon very discreetly and discovered that they were very watchful of the girl: her own comment reinforced why Galvatron wanted them to do this

"If dad couldn't come, he must have been really busy.  He usually drops what he's doing or at least tries to work around it to come with me" she said

Counter Strike realised that indeed he would have to snatch the girl from under Prime's nose.  The challenge itself was however, very alluring for a bot such as himself and he was going to do this with as much skill and artistic flare as he could.  He and his team would be legends among the Decepticons if they pulled this off.  Seeing that the human and her companions were in a movie complex, Counter Strike took the opportunity to contact Dead Centre and Nightflight

"She's one well protected kid, it seems if Optimus Prime isn't with her, the Rodimus is or some of Prime's bigger muscle.  This needs to be a work of art" he said in his secure comm link

"I see, well aside from a few of Justice Force rookies making regular patrols down here it's been quieter than your bedroom" Dead Centre joked

"Very droll.  Keep a sharp eye out" he advised his friend

"Will do, CS" Dead Centre replied

"See you in a few hours DC" Counter Strike deactivated the link and remained outside the theatre for a further two hours.

***********************

Slipstream was now inside the Security Spire having easily run rings around the lax security guards that worked there, making Slipstream a little disappointed in the ease of getting in, but the complexities of hacking the system and rearranging it more than made up for it: he'd spent nearly an hour making sure just clicking on the welcome screen wouldn't make the alarms go off

"Okay, just solder this little wire here" he muttered and created the connection between his small laptop and the main system

Slipstream cracked his knuckles and began typing in line after line of computer code: Counter Strike wanted a masterpiece; he was going to get one

"Okay, reroute that command here, disconnect that subroutine; this line of code has to go" he muttered as he went about his work

A few hours in and his comm unit buzzed; grumbling he answered it: it was Nitron Charge

"Slipstream: how is that system coming along?" he asked

"Fine until you rang" the obnoxious saboteur remarked

"Touchy, be cool Slipstream.  I got this building rigged with so much boom juice it's disintegrate rather than explode" he declared proudly

Slipstream blinked

"And how pray tell did you manage that without alerting anyone?" he asked

"Well you see; the Autobots are trying this rather interesting new fuel distribution system.  Liquid Energon flows through every wall" he explained

"So all you had to do was plant a few bombs in the right place and the whole tower will go up like a Roman Candle?" Slipstream asked

"Yep.  I'm going back to base now, are you going to stay till that's done or come back to it later?" he asked his friend

"Counter Strike demanded a masterpiece and I shall deliver" Slipstream said and bid his buddy a good night and returned to his work.

******************

Nitron Charge shrugged and decided to get his butt out of that building fast.  Unlike the wet behind the ears recruits at the Iacon Command Tower, this building had some of Prime's more noteworthy men guarding it; the Aerialbots and Highbrow.  And Nitron Charge was not going to be so cocky that he would pick a fight and risk alerting them to everyone's presence on Cybertron

[Better be quick, Highbrow can see infrared and I glow brighter than Dead Centre after he's drunk too much] he thought and sped out of the area fast

His speed of 200 m/h did not slacken until he hit the ghetto area of town where he and the others were situated.  Feeling safer now, he dropped his invisibility shield and drove towards the warehouse where the group was situated.  Before he got within a few miles of the place though, he felt Dead Centre's crosshairs trained on him

"Be cool little buddy; it's me" he said over their coded radio

The crosshairs went away and Nightflight opened the door to let his friend in.  Upon entering he saw that Counter Strike was asleep on a cot in the corner of the room

"What's with the boss?" he asked

"He figured it was better to snatch the kid at night, he's already so black he'll blend in but the cloaking will make him undetectable" Nightflight rumbled in his deep voice

Nitron Charge saw the logic in that argument: he knew Counter Strike always napped before a deep infiltration mission: it made him sharper than a laser sword and more silent that space itself

The demolitions expert sat down in a corner and decided to get some shut eye himself before the boss left.  While he did that, Dead Centre got onto Slipstream

"Finish the job and get your ass back here now: he's going in a few hours from now" the assassin hissed down the radio

"I'm nearly done anyway, just twenty minutes to undermine these few subroutines and I'll be back" Slipstream was adamant to stay until the job was done

"Okay, you got 1 hour and then I'll come and get and I don't care if you're done or not" Dead Centre threatened and went back to watching the area

As promised, 45 minutes later, Slipstream hovered into view, real fast too.  At first Dead Centre thought he was being chased but he soon realised his team mate was just making good his promise to return quickly.  Nightflight let him in and Slipstream transformed and gloated about his perfect operation

"How did your's go?" he teased Dead Centre

"Get fucked" he replied and sat down to relax for the first time in several hours

After 15 minutes of banter between the men; Counter Strike woke up and announced his departure

"I shouldn't be gone for too long: a few hours tops" he said and transformed

Counter Strike's alternative form was a car; one that was totally jet black with no markings on it what so ever: at also didn't travel on wheels but hovered like Slipstream did: he turned on his stealth and silently zipped away in the direction of the living quarters of Optimus Prime: for any normal soldier it was a suicide mission, but for Counter Strike it was the ultimate test of his skill: and he intended to pass with flying colours

**************

The living quarters of both Primes were guarded by troops regularly at night, but most were young security recruits and not fully fledged men: so Counter Strike was able to evade them easily.  Getting to the top of the building in which the Autobot leader lived was another matter entirely.  But earlier scouting had deduced that the venting system was a weak point that could be exploited.  So Counter Strike quickly and quietly found a way into the vent system.  It was almost too easy because although the shaft was sheer, the regular openings in the side made it easy to climb up like a ladder, but preferring silence over speed, he made a slow careful ascent towards his target.

It took nearly an hour for the infiltrator to get to the Prime's level but he got there and without raising suspicion in the young guards as well.  He began crawling prone in the above vents on the ceiling and saw that another more experienced guard was outside the door to Prime's quarters: Sunstreaker: Counter Strike allowed a malicious grin to grow in his face as he eased out of the vent and suspended himself in the air with his lower legs inside the vent, keeping himself flush with the roof.  The hallway was nearly dark but some light escaped from the room the Autobot was guarding

[All too easy] he thought as Sunstreaker walked beneath him

In a lightning move, Counter Strike swung down and drove a combat knife though the Autobot's brain and covered his mouth with his hand.  Sunstreaker died silently.  Keeping hold of Sunstreaker with one hand the vent lip with the other, Counter Strike silently dropped both himself and the dead Autobot to the ground.  Acting quickly he slid a camera under the door to examine the situation:

Sharon had one other guard: Goldbug and that was it: she as in bed listening to a music player and Goldbug was beside her bed in a chair reading something.  Smiling, Counter Strike recalled his mobile camera and grabbed Sunstreaker's card and swiped it, the door opened and the infiltrator dew his silenced pistol and walked in, bold as brass

"Hey Sunstreaker w-" Goldbug never finished as he was shot by a silent bolt of EMP from the pistol.

Sharon screamed as her friend's head sparked and spat; she went for the alarm button but it didn't work

"Don't bother: my friend has done a masterful job on the alarm system" he said and sprayed a gas at the girl, knocking her out

Counter Strike retrieved a long tube shaped capsule from his cargo compartment and put Sharon in it: the drug he gassed her with would be effective for almost a day.  He placed her in it and put the tube back in his cargo hold.  Then as silently as he came in; he left through the vents.  However, instead of climbing down this time he slid down.  Once he hit the bottom, he got out and began walking calmly

He was spotted by a patrol on his way however

"Hey, stop" the young officer said

Counter Strike stopped and readied his combat knives behind his back and looked at the bots stopping him: two small seekers.  They demanded his identification and name: he just smiled and stabbed them in the heads, dropping them like stones.  He looked around and transformed and sped off towards his base camp, most likely with a security patrol in his tail.

Although no tailers were apparent, when he was within range, Counter Strike radioed Dead Centre

"Get into position and watch for me: I may have company coming and tell Nightflight to prep for take off; mission accomplished" he said

"Okay sir" he said

"Now: Nitron Charge.  You know how you said that building would disappear?" he asked his demolitions man

"Yeah" he replied

"Show me some magic" Counter Strike said

"Sir" he replied and pressed the button

*******************

The sleepy Iacon Central Command Tower was rocked by multiple explosions and screams as the tower nearly liquefied by Nitron Charge's best placed and best constructed bombs and when someone hit the alarm at the Security Spire, nothing happened except the computers started exploding and set off the inner defences that were now programmed to destroy anything that moved in the building itself.

*******************

Dead Centre watched as his leader sped towards them, three security units behind him

[Not for long] Dead Centre thought with glee

*Bang*

*Bang*

*Bang*

Three shots echoed in the Cybertron nigh sky and three security units ceased to function

[I am greatest] Dead Centre thought as he quickly scanned for more units: there were none

Satisfied he got up and jumped down to pack his weapon up and get into Nightflight quickly.  Nitron Charge and Slipstream were covering Counter Strike for his short distance approach.  As soon as he was within fifty feet, Nitron Charge withdrew and Slipstream followed a few seconds later when their leader was within twenty five feet he retreated to Nightflight, who was powering up V/TOL engines

"Okay, take off in twenty seconds" Nightflight said as his leader drove into his bay and was secured down.

"Go, go, go, go" Counter Strike said

Nightflight took off quietly and quickly and headed towards the night sky.  A successful mission undertaken and completed to the highest level of perfection and to boot, lots of dead Autobots

****************


	3. The Legend of the Dark Prime

****************

Optimus Prime was in a fury: not only had these Decepticons taken his child; but they also rigged two buildings in different ways that caused the death of all inside them as a distraction: oh yes the first Decepticon to enter his crosshairs was going to meet the maker

"Would anyone care to explain how they got through the radar _and_ the security patrols?" he asked his staff

No one was game to answer; even Rodimus was quiet and that took some doing.  However before Prime could start ranting, one of the Autobot's spies walked in

"Sir.  I believe I know who carried out last night's atrocities" he said

"Well, do enlighten us" Prime said and sat down

The spy, named Undercover placed a small hologram projector on the table and activated it: the Decepticon Infiltration Unit appeared

"I was reviewing a security tape of the commerce area and I saw this character here" he said and pointed to Counter Strike

"And these five are?" Ultra Magnus asked

"These five are the ones who managed to evade our security, break into two of the most secure buildings on Cybertron, rig them, and get Sharon" he said

Mutters of horror and shock spread across the room: five Decepticons managed to cause all this and no one picked up on them

"That doesn't explain how they did it" Rodimus pointed out

"Indeed.  These five are the Decepticon Army's best infiltrators: the best in their respective fields: demolitions; sabotage; assassination; infiltration transport and deep infiltration missions" Undercover explained

"And" Magnus prompted

"Well, we can guarantee that the building that lies in rubble was rigged by this character here: Nitron Charge, an expert on anything that goes ka-boom" he pointed to said Decepticon

"The security building's malfunction will be the handiwork of Slipstream; this little bastard can hack anything known to man or beast and create total havoc with it" he pointed to Slipstream

"What about how they got it?" Rodimus asked

"That will be Nightflight, a large stealth bomber/transport plane" he said and moved on to the next one

"Now, Sharon's abductor was someone with almost no flaws in their skills: that will be Counter Strike: he's led several raids on Autobot facilities and each time he has been in and out before suspicions were raised" he told them of the infiltrator's history

"He is also obviously responsible for Sunstreaker, Goldbug and the two security guard's deaths" Undercover skipped over the subject as best he could

"And last but not least is the bot responsible for the three dead Security Units: meet Dead Centre, the chief assassin of the Decepticon army" Undercover finished and handed out data pads with all the relevant information on the group to all the seated Autobots

Optimus Prime looked at each holo image and burned the face of each member of this team into his memory banks: may Primus take mercy on them if he got his hands on them.  He then stood up from his seat and the head of the table, and for the first time, the Autobots saw how big their leader was; and they also saw for the first time that the hands that signed treaties for peace were connected to the powerful arms of war: Prime was no stranger to combat, but what the others did not know was that he was also no stranger to vengeance.

"All stop.  This has the highest priority.  Find these five, find Sharon.  That is what this army will live and breathe on until she is found.  All levels of force authorised for use" he said quietly, but that voice held more rage, more anger than a primal scream

Then Optimus began convulsing and holding his head and he fell over

"Medic!" Rodimus cried out as Ultra Magnus went to help his fallen leader

Before Rodimus could go over and assist his friend; he was hit with a wave of something from the Matrix: a message from Alpha Trion

"Rodimus, you must not allow Prime's secondary protocol to activate, if it does.  It will spell doom for almost all of our kind" the message was quick and simple

[What in the world is that: Secondary Protocol?] Rodimus wondered as he assisted Magnus in putting Prime on a stretcher

Once he was wheeled out; Rodimus turned to the men

"Okay; you heard the big man's orders.  Get to it!" he snapped, getting their attention

***********************

Sharon opened her eyes and looked around: she was in a dingy cell in a place she didn't recognise and her immediate memory was foggy

"What happened, am I on Earth?" she asked aloud

"No" a raspy metallic voice answered her question; she looked up and saw a Transformer; he bore the Decepticon symbol

"I must say that team did a marvellous job of capturing you, and as a very nice added bonus: hundreds of dead Autobots" she looked up to his face and shook in fear:

Galvatron

"Oh no" she whimpered

"Yes, my dear.  You are on Char and you are my prisoner" the Decepticon leader gloated as he looked down on the smaller human being

Sharon scuttled into a corner and tried to block the voice out but it was no use: its malicious owner wasn't going to give up so easily and clanked over to her and stared her in the face: his red optics glowed with the madness Galvatron was reputed to have: and it stood out

"Your presence was request so that I might finally bring down Optimus Prime, once and for all" Galvatron cackled and left the room

Sharon took the time to look around the cell: it was a dank and barren, but due to the lava that ran all over Char only a few feet below the surface, the cell was warm and made of steel rather than stone, like some cells she had seen on Earth

[No rats at least] she thought and saw there was a large foam slab in one corner

Sighing she went over and lay down on it but no sleep would come to her: for red eyes haunted her dreams and mind all night

***************************

Rodimus looked in utter disbelief at his leader: he was in a coma some thought at first but his brain was still buzzing with activity and he occasionally said something incoherent.  It was as Rodimus walked in that the unbelievable thing happened: Optimus lifted his left arm and slammed the table he was on; then the whole arm changed:

It went black and grew a pauldron on the arm that went out to the side: it had an intricate pattern in ancient Cybertronian glyphs went across the limb, even to the tips of the fingers.  Then the most frightening part: a long curved blade emerged from the elbow, nearly going past the shoulder in length

"What madness is this?" Rodimus was now very scared and he called Ratchet

The doctor took one look at Prime and knew what was going on

"Oh Primus, it can't be, please no" he prayed and begged at once

"What?" Rodimus asked

Ratchet looked at him, really bore into him and asked him a question

"Have you ever heard the legend of the Dark Prime?" Ratchet hissed

"No" Rodimus asked

Ratchet handed Rodimus a data pad and told him to check the reference in there.  He then left with out another word.  A confused Rodimus looked at the data pad and after deciding he could not help his friend by staying; he retreated to his own quarters to privately go over what Ratchet gave him.

"This is insane" he said after a few paragraphs

The Dark Prime was a legendary warrior of Cybertron.  Although he is said to have many forms, the most commonly agreed on form is that of the Prime he emerges from with minor alterations.  It is also said that the Dark Prime isn't some phantom or evil ghost but a living part of all Primes: they say he resides in the Matrix and slowly emerges from it: then comes the disturbing part of his transformation: it is said that the Matrix becomes his mind: so instead of having to access all the information of the past: he has it in his head as if they are his own memories

The Dark Prime is also reputed for having an almost god-like level of power.  Speed; strength, ferocity and skills beyond that of most Primes: his emergence caused the phrase 'Secondary Protocol' to be coined.  He only shows when his host is weakened, either emotionally or physically, so in effect he is likened to a back up program that gives new power, usually of rage to the Prime in question.  The term itself fell into use to describe someone when he or she goes out of control, e.g.

'Whoa, no need to engage Secondary Protocol there'

Rodimus couldn't believe what he was reading: Optimus Prime, the one said by many as the most sane and rational of all Primes in history was becoming a Dark Prime.  He wasn't going to allow this madness to continue.  Without thinking straight, he marched back down to Optimus's room and he was dismayed: Optimus's upper torso had become black: it differed from his normal body by the top of his chest (where the truck cab windows were) had peaked and become pointed: it also had more of the strange glyphs

"Right, this is going to stop.  Now" Rodimus said and went over and grasped his friend's hand and initiated a Matrix Link so that hopefully the two of them could speak

Rodimus felt his head go airy for a second and then he opened his eyes and saw he was in a white expanse and before him stood two beings: Optimus Prime and, the other one Rodimus devised was the Dark Prime.  He was much taller than Optimus was and in his hands he held a large sword that bore the crest of the Matrix on its blade.  A long red cloak adorned his back

"Welcome, Rodimus Prime" the Dark Prime said: his voice was deep but not the malicious kind

Rodimus was taken off guard by the welcome and more so by the sound of the Dark Prime's voice

"I trust you here to see about the welfare of your leader and friend, Optimus Prime?" he asked

"Yes" Rodimus replied

"Good.  I see why you were the other chosen one.  You have a lot of love and concern for your leader" he said

"All Autobots do" he retorted

"I know, but he is lonely and tired.  Life thus far for him has been one long standing war.  When I emerge I am going to put a stop to it once and for all" Dark Prime said and lifted his sword up.

Rodimus saw that although the side antennas stuck out to the side at extreme angles, the only major difference (aside from the colours), between the Dark Prime's head and Optimus's own was the single large horn in the centre of the head

"You aren't evil then?" Rodimus asked

At this the Dark Prime let out a loud and hearty laugh, almost friendly sounding too

"No, I am simply a being manifested from the emotions of my bearer.  Some have been good while others have tried to embrace the dark side of life using me" he paused and looked at Optimus

"He is one who is using me to end a war.  A deed neither good nor evil.  But merely necessity" Dark Prime looked at the withering visage of his host and almost looked sad

"It is a shame that all the good must perish" he said

Rodimus felt like he'd been stabbed through the Energon pump when Dark Prime said that and grabbed the larger apparition and shook him

"What do you mean?" he cried out

Dark Prime lowered his gaze and spoke again in a solemn voice

"It is time you left this place, Rodimus Prime" he said

"What?" Rodimus was so confused by the new developments; that he started to act irrationally

"BE GONE!" Dark Prime commanded and brought his sword down, blade tip first into the ground

********************

On the outside, Rodimus was flung from the bedside to the wall, almost 35 feet away by and energy discharge emanating from Optimus Prime.  Defeated; he decided to read the last line of the information regarding the Dark Prime

Rodimus Prime, leader of the Autobots for a time, warrior and all around hero then broke down

…'Dark Prime in all his appearances has caused the death of his host' was the final line on the mysterious being.

*********************

A/N:  Sorry that this chapter is shorter than the previous two (but hey, Thomas Harris has a couple of chapters in 'The Silence of the Lambs which are only two pages long).  But everything I wanted to achieve in a chapter was achieved here

And in regards to one reviewer commenting that Optimus Prime was acting OOC, to quote Jules Winnfield 'Well allow me to retort':  Optimus Prime is acting that way because someone has just threatened him with war and in a more subtle way, his child; no one will have a sense of humour or diplomacy about that.


	4. The Awakening of Dark Prime

*****************

In the back streets of Char, in a seedy bar (is there any other kind for the Decepticons?), the Infiltration team sat at a table with many cubes of high grade Energon and other assorted intoxicating beverages as well; word got out that all the work on Cybertron was their doing so they were the tost of the bar: everything was free, and that included the extra under the counter services at the bar; Nightflight had already disappeared with three members of said service committee and as his team mates toasted him; Counter Strike was continually looking over his shoulder

"Boss; is something the matter?" Nitron Charge asked

"Yeah, you could say that" he replied

Dead Centre grabbed the nearest hooker and put her on his knee and then looked his leader in the eye

"I know what it is: sir, I will be frank; you need to grab one of these fine examples of Cybertanium ass and go up stairs, and have the bunk up of your life" he said, motioning to the well endowed hookers draping themselves over the other team members

"He's right sir, after the display of skill and the perfect mission of your life; I think a joining with one or more members of the opposite sex is in order" Slipstream slurred and buried his face in the assets of the nearest femme

"Come on CS, at least show one of these fine ladies why you are the big man on Char" Nitron Charge said

Counter Strike said nothing and looked over his shoulder at the door frame again as if expecting an Autobot raiding party to jump in and kill them all: he knew that the Autobots had infiltrators as good as him: not better, if there were better ones then he and the others wouldn't have gotten off Cybertron alive

"I'm just tired Nitron Charge, nothing a recharge won't cure" he joked and deciding why not, grabbed a femme and headed upstairs.

The team spent the night getting absolutely whacked and shagging anything they got their hands on (except each other): Counter Strike even had a marvellous shot of Slipstream trying to hump a drink machine while he was drunk: that was going on the notice board.

Galvatron was almost skipping when he intercepted a long range transmission saying the Optimus Prime had fallen into a coma: he didn't care why just that it had happened.  And now he marched towards the cell where Sharon was kept to deliver the news in person: he loved seeing people of any kind become emotionally devastated.  He entered the cell to see the girl was eating the food that had been provided (even Galvatron wasn't stupid enough to starve useful hostages)

"Well my dear, it seems your father has fallen ill" he said with sadistic glee

"Is it fatal?" Sharon asked, worrying about Optimus Prime because she knew of his fragile mental state

"I sincerely hope so" Galvatron added and laughed insanely as he left

Sharon hugged her knees to her chest and prayed that Optimus Prime was all right: he had slowly begun to deteriorate emotionally over the past few years with the crap he had been heaped with: and because of his position, he couldn't go and get totally rat arsed with his mates if he felt like it, and only she knew of his secret passion for singing and other small things he could not share with anyone, not even his best friends, if not brothers; Rodimus and Magnus.

[Please be okay dad, they need you, and I need you] she prayed before sobbing to herself

*********************

In the Matrix, Optimus was talking with the Dark Prime

"So, you are the fabled warrior of our race" he said and looked the spectre up and down

"Not much to look at, are you" Optimus said

Dark Prime smiled

"I'm built from you, don't forget that" he said slyly

"I guess you want to know why I came here" he said to Optimus, making the normally unflappable leader rear back in surprise

"Yes, I would like to know" Optimus answered

Dark Prime faced his host and began speaking in his deep voice

"Optimus Prime, it is time for you to die" Dark Prime usually got this part out of the way first

To his surprise, Optimus didn't start panicking and ask why like some before him had done

"Is that so, well, it would seem that this time fate has decided to let me go peacefully" Optimus said

"Indeed.  However, Galvatron's time is almost up as well, and it is my sworn duty to send him to the maker before you die" Dark Prime now knelt and looked Optimus in the eyes:

In the eyes of the leader, Dark Prime saw only fatigue and sorrow and pain; Galvatron had stolen what little love and joy Prime truly had left when his men took Sharon: and Dark Prime knew that Prime was weary and needed to rest now, but this time he could not let his people to resurrect him again: it was time for Optimus Prime to die and stay dead.

[And besides, he has someone waiting for him] Dark Prime looked deep into the Matrix and saw Elita 1 waiting for Prime

"You and I will bring this conflict to an end, Optimus Prime.  Once and for all" he held his hand out to Prime

Optimus looked at him for a minute: he knew that the Dark Prime appeared every thousand years or so and since he had been a Prime for 9 million years, he figured that he was going be the next one for the Dark Prime to take.  He had expected a grim reaper of sorts, but what he got was a warrior soul looking to fulfil his host's last request: an end to the war

Optimus Prime extended his hand and took the Dark Prime's hand.  A feeling of ease then passed through his body and he fell into a deep sleep.

On the outside however, the transformation to Dark Prime was nearly completed, all that was needed was the Matrix and he would awaken once more.  Dark Prime was now in control of Optimus's body and his optics flickered on and he got up and after a few tentative steps, gained his balance and equilibrium

"Okay, I need a shuttle" he said to himself and began to scan the city for the nearest dock

"Found it" he said to himself

Dark Prime was about to walk out of the door when he realised that a larger version of Optimus Prime that was jet black with Cybertronian glyphs all over his body and a large broad sword on his back

[Hmm, a bit of discretion is needed here] he surmised and phased himself out

Dark Prime was possessed of many powers that he had gained over the years from all the other Primes: one of them was the ability to literally phase out to another dimension and thus rendering him immune from all laws of physics and science in the previous one.  This allowed him to walk through walls and floors at will.

Quickly and quietly Dark Prime made his way to Rodimus's quarters where the acting leader was sleeping after a gruelling day at work trying to get Sharon back.  Smiling, Dark Prime went over and saw that the Matrix was still in Rodimus's chest

"Forgive me young one, but I must borrow this" he said and phasing back to the plane of Cybertron, he used his powers to open Rodimus's chest and remove the Matrix

Rodimus gasped but a swift punch from Dark Prime's powerful fist was enough to stop him waking up.  Opening his own chest compartment he secured the Matrix before he left on his mission.  Dark Prime exited the building and flew up into the air, leaving the planet far behind, with a single thought on his mind

Revenge

**************************

Rodimus awoke to his buzzer being violently pushed

"I'm coming" he yelled out and went to the door

Kup, Magnus, Ratchet and Springer were standing before him

"Rodimus; Optimus's body is gone" Ratchet said

"Then I wasn't dreaming" Rodimus gasped and opened his chest compartment: sure enough the Matrix was gone

Kup and Magnus went into frenzy as they realised the Matrix had been stolen and hit the alarms to alert the Autobots that their most sacred object was missing.  Rodimus was calm however and looked out a widow that faced the general direction of Char: he'd dispatched Undercover and his team to the area to find the Decepticons who infiltrated Cybertron and took Sharon.

[I have a feeling that all they going to find of Counter Strike and his team are a few cracked chassis and fuel spots] Rodimus thought as he remembered all he read about Dark Prime

He turned to Kup who had been calling his name for almost a full minute to get his attention

"Well, who do you think took the Matrix, Rodimus?" Kup asked

"I know exactly who has it, and where it and he, are" he answered calmly

"Well don't stand on ceremony Rodimus, where is it?" Magnus asked

"It is on Char, inside the chest of Dark Prime" he said, stunning all but one of his listeners

"But Rodimus, Dark Prime is only a legend" Kup said

Before more could be said, Streetwise came up and handed a data pad to Magnus: he was shaking like a leaf in a wind

"Streetwise, what's wrong?" Kup asked

"Watch the video on that pad, and you tell me" he answered, then he transformed and sped off

"What the hell was that all about?" Magnus wondered and played the recording: seconds later, he too was shaking a bit

"Rodimus, I take it back" Kup said after watching the recording

It was Dark Prime on his escape from the medical wing that was playing.  Now there was no doubt that the Decepticons were about to be delivered a serious blow, little did they know how serious it would be

****************************

Counter Strike and his team were now back at their headquarters and were relaxing in a more subtle way, playing a game of Chess, although a human game, lots of Transformers of both allegiances had picked up that the game was a challenge of wits and tested the mind: and Transformers loved anything that tested their minds.

"Check" Nightflight said to Slipstream

"Damn you" his opponent cursed and thought for a while

Counter Strike was reading on the couch, Dead Centre and Nitron Charge were cleaning their weapons in their respective rooms.  A knock at their door disrupted the peaceful atmosphere however

"I got it guys, keep chilling" Dead Centre said and jogged through the hallway to the door

He opened the door and saw a large black Transformer before him with a cloak and sword

"What can I do you for big fella?" Dead Centre asked

"Is this the base of the Infiltrator Counter Strike and his team?" the stranger asked

"The one and only: who are you and why are you here?" Dead Centre enquired

The unknown Transformer's eyes lit up a ghastly red.  The next thing Dead Centre knew was a searing pain in his chest and seeing error messages stream past his optics telling him of major damage: then he saw the robot holding something: his Energon pump

"I'm your Messenger of Death and I'm here to kill you" Dark Prime said and entered, dropping the pump and closing the door behind him.

Nightflight and Slipstream heard their friend die and quickly took positions at either side of the doorframe, EMP weapons at the ready to give the sorry sucker who came through that door the most painful death imaginable.  Counter Strike was behind a table with his rifle; beside him was Nitron Charge, an RPG in hand.  They waited tensely for their enemy

[Come on sucker] Counter Strike thought

He hit them before they knew what was up: Dark Prime came through one wall, his elbow blade reversed so he could thrust it forward and he did: right into Slipstream's chest, then he yanked his arm upwards and cut the upper body and head of his enemy in two.

Then with a lightning quick pivot, he swung himself around and used the other blade to decapitate Nightflight.  Dark Prime phased himself and dropped through the floor before Nitron Charge and Counter Strike could fire off a volley

"Sweet Primus we gotta get out of here" Nitron Charge said

"I'm with you" his leader replied

Before they could run though, Dark Prime popped up in front of them and blasted Nitron Charge with some kind of energy from his hands, almost liquefying the other robot; it left stains on the wall.  The only one left now was Counter Strike

"So, you're the infamous Counter Strike" he mocked and advanced on the terrified infiltrator

"And who are you?" Counter Strike spat

"Well, if you want to die with piece of mind; I am the Dark Prime" he replied

Counter Strike saw that one of Nitron Charge's Energon bombs had survived and rolled over to him.  So as quick as he could, he grabbed it, primed it and slapped it onto Dark Prime and dived behind something.  A large explosion rocked the base: no doubt alerting the rest of the Decepticons to the situation

[Eat that slag for brains] he thought and looked up: what he saw chilled his Energon and froze his CPU

Dark Prime was still standing, his red eyes glowing brightly in the smoke; they took on such a shape and tinge that it came across as a smirk

"For that, I'm going to make your demise more painful than before" he said and his eyes glowed brighter

Counter Strike found himself pinned to the wall first by the powers of his now obviously more powerful adversary and then by strips of metal.  His eyes widened as Dark Prime drew his sword.  It then dawned on him what was about to happen

Dark Prime slashed the abdomen of Counter Strike in an X shape first and then again to create an 8 pointed star shape.  The blade of the sword cut through many vital systems and mechanisms, but the infiltrator was still alive to feel the pain

Dark Prime grew a more malicious look and cleanly cut Counter Strike in two, the bottom half flopping forward to hang pathetically.  Dark Prime cleaned his sword blade and sheathed it again and walked out of the base.  To most warriors on both sides, such an attack would be mentally devastating but to Dark Prime, it was as if it was a normal raid

"That takes care of them, now for target number 2: Sharon, once I get her off this wretched planet, I can go after Galvatron" he said to himself and flew towards her bio energy signature

************************

It didn't take him very long to find the prison she was in; it was guarded by a single Decepticon; a seeker.  Dark Prime made short work of him by slicing downwards, neatly slicing the seeker in two.  He then made his way to the cell and ripped the door off its hinges: the girl had been sedated and as a result did not hear her rescuer come in.

"I must send her back to Cybertron" he said to himself and gently placed her in a capsule similar to the one Counter Strike put her in when he took her

Dark Prime then utilised another of his powers and created a wormhole, a power he gained from Aros Prime, a leader almost 150 million years old.  Although with Aros Prime the power sent him mad and killed him, Dark Prime was able to wield it perfectly

"Goodbye little one" he said and sent the capsule through the wormhole

**************************

The wormhole had opened up in Magnus's quarters where both he and Rodimus were talking: they were to say the least quite surprised when the capsule clanked onto the desk between them.  Rodimus nearly tore it open to make sure the girl was alright: she was still breathing and he scanned her DNA; it was Sharon all right

"Magnus, round up every troop within a hundred miles: we're going to Char" he said and lifted Sharon into his cargo compartment

"Why, what's on Char?" Magnus asked

"Dark Prime, and the end to a war" he answered

*************************

Dark Prime smiled as he saw the girl was safe

[She is safe Optimus Prime; may I have full control now?], he asked

[Yes] was his answer, and with that, Optimus Prime died, and went to the Matrix to be with the one he loved

Then Dark Prime's chest shot open and the Matrix created a column of light that broke the roof of the cell block he was in.  Then the Matrix itself shot up wards: Dark Prime's head opened and the Matrix slotted itself in: he was complete.  He fell to the floor for a second but soon got up and felt all the power of the Matrix and it's beared flowing through him

"It is time Galvatron for you to answer for your sins" he said and let his power flow

A bright blue aura, most likely the work of the Matrix surrounded him as he walked from the cells towards his final quarry

Galvatron


	5. One Final Blow

***********************

The Autobot flagship, Alpha Trion, sped towards Char with a small battle fleet behind it: this was it, after millions of years of war between the Autobots and Decepticons: it was finally going to end

"Alpha Trion to Orion, tighten in on the left flank, there is a huge gap there" Perceptor said over his radio

"Roger that" a voice replied

Up on the bridge of the Alpha Trion, Magnus and Rodimus stood talking about the course of action they had under taken

"Are you sure this is wise, Rodimus?" Magnus asked

"Not really; I'm going off my limited own knowledge: I no longer have the Matrix to guide me Magnus, we're doing this on my judgement alone" he said and cocked his eye at his friend

"Scary isn't it?" he joked

"Yeah, kind of" Magnus chuckled and looked forward

Before long, a transmission came through

"Undercover to Rodimus Prime, priority one, I repeat, priority one" it was the Autobot infiltrator

"Put him on speaker" Magnus said

Perceptor quickly did so

"Rodimus Prime, sir, it's a mad house down here.  There're dead Decepticons everywhere" he said

"What of the group that came to Cybertron?" Rodimus asked, already knowing in his core they were the first to die

"Sir, I've seen some gruesome battles in my time, but this was pretty twisted" Undercover replied and sent the pictures he took of the scene

Gasps of horror and gulps of fear grew among the bridge crew: that wasn't a fight; that was a massacre

"You said that there are dead Decepticons everywhere; how did that happen?" Magnus asked

"I don't know, and I don't want to know.  Each one, although less elaborate; has been killed with the same brutality as the infiltrators.  And sir I wouldn't wish these kinds of deaths on anyone, not even my enemy" he said and disengaged his link

[Dark Prime's power is well deserved of its reputation, as is Dark Prime himself: a warrior with no limits to his strength, speed and ferocity] he thought and addressed the fleet

"Attention, no doubt you are aware that there is something odd going on, on Char.  Although they are our enemies, the Decepticons are being slaughtered at such a rate that if we arrive late, it is most likely that there will be none left" he let the first part sink in

"As a result of that, we are going to use a short distance hyper jump to get to Char, we shall defeat the Decepticons but we will do so our way.  We will not butcher them" he finished and began laying instructions down for the jump

Magnus whispered something in his ear 

"Dark Prime did that, didn't he" Magnus said

"Yes; his powers are greater than I imagined.  I'm not sure if I can stop him either" Rodimus confided in his friend

********************

Corpses lay strewn about Char like discarded litter, yet among them was not the one Dark Prime wanted: Galvatron

"Where are you hiding, Galvatron?" he asked the sky as a small band of brave (but stupid) troops came running for him

"FOOLS!  I AM MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU" he bellowed and swung his sword in an arc.  The ensuing energy blast cut the group in two

But wait, one survived for he was quicker than his friends and ducked down, but still the blast caught him across the back and crippled him.  Dark Prime grinned and picked the young soldier up by his neck

"I'll ask this once: where is Galvatron?" he snarled

As Transformers go, the one held in Dark Prime's hand was young, barely out of their equivalent of his teens and yet he charged against a warrior with literally millions of years of military knowledge and wisdom and power

[This isn't fair] he thought, scarred out of his wits

"Indeed, nothing in war is fair, least of all me" Dark Prime warned

The Decepticon shook even more: this psycho could read minds

"I don't know where my illustrious leader is, but if I did, I wouldn't tell you" the young Decepticon shouted and spat on Dark Prime's face

The demon Transformer growled and ran him through; his prey's face contorted in agony and fluids dripped from his mouth and down Dark Prime's hand and arm; his optics flickering

"Foolish brat" he hissed and twisted the sword around, causing his prey great pain

SNAP

Dark Prime broke the neck of the young one; then he nonchalantly flung his sword out and hurled the body off the blade and onto some rocks, denting and twisting the chassis in unnatural ways

"Oh well, I'll just have to find him the old fashioned way, looking" he shrugged, walking along the ruined track kicking the occasional severed head or crushing ones that was still working

**************************

Galvatron was hiding in his throne room: he had no idea the Autobots could be so brutal and merciless: it made him jealous

"Are we fortified in?" he asked Cyclonus

"Yes my lord" he replied

Galvatron, Cyclonus, Soundwave and the Sweeps were barricaded in the top floor of the Command Building and had several large weapons with them: using them they hoped to defeat what ever monster the Autobots had sent against him

**************************

Rodimus was on the first landing party to Char; along with Ultra Magnus, Kup, Springer, Arcee and Grimlock.  Many more troops sat behind them readying their weapons and making claims of victory

"Yeah, me Grimlock going to bash brains" the Dinobot declared

The carrier landed and the trooped all stormed out, crying battle cries and promises of defeat to the enemy.  Rodimus remained behind in the carrier and listened to the noises: they lasted all of five seconds.

[They've realised] he thought and went out, but what greeted him was far worse than he ever thought possible

Many dead Transformers lay strewn around on the ground, impaled on spikes, torn to pieces, crushed beneath rocks and mangled in outcrops of stone or burnt to death.  Fluids and fuel made puddles on the ground as if an obscene rain storm had taken place

"Dear Primus" he gasped as he surveyed the scene

"Help, help me" a terrified voice pierced the air and made the Autobot strike force look north

A Decepticon femme was running towards them, in her arms was a young child: Rodimus told his men not to fire at them under any circumstances what so ever

"She is no danger to us" he said and ran to meet the femme half way

Alas he was too late: an all too familiar spectre rose from the ground and with a quick flourish of his sword, Dark Prime diced both mother and child to pieces.  Grinning maniacally he turned to face his audience

"Practical but stylish, even if I do say so myself" he remarked

"You're a monster" Rodimus growled

"Actually, I am what humans would call, a demon, but let us not split hair Rodimus Prime", Dark Prime said and chuckled before facing the Autobots

"Welcome to Char, my fellow Autobots.  As you can see I have disposed of most of the opposition" he gloated

"You're sick; how dare you align yourself with us!" Arcee screamed

The glyphs on Dark Prime's body glowed bright red, making him look incredibly frightening and evil

"My dear, not only am I aligned with you: I _am_ you.  I was created from the very essence of the Autobots: the Matrix" he said

They all gasped as Dark Prime said his piece.  Rodimus, convinced that Dark Prime was going to kill them as well, launched himself at him.  Dark Prime merely moved to the side and kneed the leader in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him

"I'll let that slide Rodimus, because you are a Prime" he warned

Then one of the glyphs on Dark Prime's head flashed

"A ha, so that's where he's hiding" he whispered to himself and took to the sky

He was heading straight for the Command Building.  Rodimus got up and growled

"Autobots, transform.  I never thought I'd have to say this, but we must stop Dark Prime from killing Galvatron" Rodimus said

His men though saw why and did as he commanded: this was wrong and what Dark Prime just did before their eyes went against everything in the Autobot code

"This ends now" Rodimus cried as they advanced towards their target

************************

Dark Prime soon found were Galvatron and his men were hiding: although he had to give them credit for hiding in an obvious place because he didn't look there at all during his rampage

[Well played Galvatron, but your time is up] he thought to himself and phased through the wall

Rodimus and his men all arrived a few seconds after he had entered the building

"Break down those doors, hurry" he ordered

In response, Defensor and Superion punched the door in, several feet at that

"Go, top floor is the throne room, that's where Galvatron and his officers will be" Magnus shouted as they all filed in

They ran non stop up fifty large flights of stairs until they came to a barricaded door: but Rodimus's trailer cannons made short work of it and the stormed in: the scene inside was like that outside but less dirty: Scourge and the Sweeps were in several locations in several pieces.  Cyclonus was still in one piece but severely damaged

"I yield Autobots, please, call of your warrior" he begged, coughing up Energon

"First Aid, Ratchet.  Front and centre" Magnus yelled

In quick order the two medics came out of the crowd

"Repair Cyclonus till he's fit for transport: then have Highbrow take him back the landing area.  Then you are to take off back the Alpha Trion to repair him back to normal" Rodimus ordered

The two medics began to work on the fallen Decepticon flyer

"I don't understand" Cyclonus said, dumbfounded

"That demon isn't exactly our warrior: but that aside no one, not even you guys deserve what is happening to you" First Aid said

"Where did he take Galvatron?" Rodimus asked

Cyclonus grit his teeth and stood up and pointed out of a hole in the wall towards the largest volcano on Char; it was also the most active and hot

"There" he groaned as the two medics and a couple of guards escorted him back to the landing area

Rodimus looked and with his binocular vision activated, he could see two small figures around the rim of the volcano: one was shooting the other, but the one doing the shooting kept getting knocked to the ground

"Are they there?" Magnus asked

"Yeah.  I'm going after them" he replied and began walking when the others began following him

"No.  This is something that must be done between me and him" Rodimus said and ordered them and all the other teams to find and help as many of the wounded Decepticons as they could and take any survivors back to Cybertron for medical help and counselling

With those orders in place, Rodimus flew towards the volcano and towards, quite possibly, his doom

**********************

Galvatron yet again tasted dirt as the seemingly invincible warrior he was fighting threw him to the ground again.  His body was littered with dents and holes: and while he had shot Dark Prime several times; he remained unblemished

"How does it feel, Galvatron, to be slammed to the ground like a bug?" Dark Prime taunted

The proud Decepticon leader tried will all his might to hurt Dark Prime but it was hopeless: what ever he was, he was far more powerful than him.  Dark Prime then kicked Galvatron hard in the guts and then stepped on his head, grinding it into the dirt; that was when Rodimus arrived

"Ah welcome Rodimus Prime; feel free to take an opportunity and kill him now" Dark Prime said and handed Rodimus a gun

"I didn't come here to kill him, I came here to kill you" Rodimus said to the demon Transformer

"You're a fool Rodimus: you have a chance to win this war; just kill him, or let me kill him. Galvatron is far to possessed by madness to be converted to the Autobot ways" Dark Prime hissed, pressing Galvatron's head further into the ground as he spoke

"Give me back the Matrix, Dark Prime.  Now!" Rodimus demanded in a steely tone

"You shall get it back in due course Rodimus" Dark Prime said and picked Galvatron up

Rodimus gasped at the sight of the Decepticon leader: who he always associated a great sense of pride and power, evil that it may be.  Now he was being paraded in front of him like a circus freak and he looked like it too: dents and holes everywhere and his left arm had been crushed

"You tell me in all honesty that these things deserve less for all they put you through: the Autobots were attacked without provocation, tortured you, killed and maimed you.  If that doesn't deserve this, then what does?" Dark Prime asked, frustrated

"You're right; the Decepticons have been cruel to us, but we have always been better than them by not stooping to-" Rodimus was cut off by a cry

"Wake up you idiot!  You will not win this war by playing the noble heroes.  You will win by giving to them ten fold what they gave you.  You don't want to execute prisoners, fine.  But when you march on an enemy city: you do kill them, it doesn't matter who, just shoot them" Dark Prime bellowed

"Optimus Prime didn't believe that, why should I?" Rodimus asked

Dark Prime cackled and pointed a finger at Rodimus

"You are such a simple minded creature.  I know what Prime wanted.  He wanted nothing more than to march on this mud ball with all his might and destroy everything in his way" he crowed

Rodimus shook his head and denied what his enemy said vigorously

"No, Optimus was-"

"Tired, he was tired of this petty fighting and most of all he was tired of leading: he was this far from going out on his own accord.  But then the human showed up and balanced him out a little" Dark Prime explained

Rodimus and even Galvatron listened, wrapt in this in depth and oh so rare look into the mind of one the most powerful and feared Transformers

"But then our stupid friend here came and decided that he would take her.  Upsetting the balance and allowing me to break free" he paused and dropped Galvatron on the ground

Dark Prime stepped on his enemy's chest

"Congratulations Galvatron, you have succeeded in break Optimus Prime. But instead of him turning into a quivering mass unfit to lead: it gave rise to me" he gloated

Galvatron's eyes went wide as he stared at Dark Prime

"You mean…" he stopped

"Yes; I am the ultimate form of Optimus Prime, his spirit is gone, to paradise when no one not even Unicron can resurrect him" Dark Prime then picked up Galvatron and drew his sword

He placed the tip of it at Galvatron's neck

"Now, for all your sins, you die!" he cried

Before he could however kill the Decepticon, Rodimus tackled him and grabbed Galvatron from his grasp

"Come on" Rodimus yelled and grabbed Galvatron's uninjured arm and dragged him away

But even in this situation, Galvatron wasn't going to let go his hatred of Rodimus Prime and fired his canon at the leader of the Autobots, making him nearly fall into the volcano they sat upon

"I may die, but at least I'll take you with me" Galvatron said

Those were his last words before he was run through by Dark Prime, who in his rage had charged the Galvatron and as a result went over the edge with Galvatron.  Rodimus used the time to scramble out of the lip of the Volcano and on to the rim again

"Here Rodimus, this is yours" Dark Prime called and released the Matrix from his body and gave it back to Rodimus.

Although both leaders thought that would deactivate Dark Prime, he was still0 online with the strength of ten Transformers, and he held Galvatron until they hit the lava

*BOOM

The resulting explosion made Rodimus fall down the side of the volcano: a rather painful trip but less painful when compared with melting in lava.  He transformed and drove back to the landing site; an unidentifiable feeling in his heart as he arrived to see all his troops and the terrified Decepticon survivors waiting for him

"What happened to Dark Prime?" Magnus asked

Rodimus opened his chest and revealed the Matrix; Magnus took that as a sign that Dark Prime was dead or at least vanquished

"What of my leader?" Rumble asked; he was in a terrible state for Soundwave was dead

"He tried to shoot me, even though I tried to help him, then Dark Prime killed himself and Galvatron when he plunged into the volcano" he explained

Rumble just nodded and looked away.  Rodimus then turned to the assembled Decepticons and began speaking

"I am sorry for what has happened to you and your friends.  Dark Prime was only an Autobot by name, not by nature" he began, hoping to hell that forgiveness would be possible

The assembled Decepticons simply nodded and urged him to continue on with his speech

"To that end: I declare all hostilities of the past between the Autobots and Decepticons null and void.  You are welcome on Cybertron and out in our territories.  I am afraid that and as much assistance as I can spare is all I can offer" he said solemnly

A lone Decepticon, Astrotrain in fact, stood up and answered

"While the aid will be gratefully appreciated, Rodimus Prime, I think we can survive on out own, thank you" he said

"Does this make you the new leader of the Decepticons, Astrotrain?" Rodimus asked

"Until such time a suitable replacement is found, yes" the triple changer answered

Rodimus had to grin: Astrotrain and Blitzwing were two of the oldest Decepticons to date, nearly as old as Ironhide had been, 11 million years: Rodimus knew then that the Decepticons were in good hands

"Very well; a supply ship will be sent forthwith with building supplies.  The battleship Orion will remain to tend to the wounded" Rodimus finished and left the planet Char.

As he left, Astrotrain watched his old adversary leave and he dwelled on the fact that the war was now more or less over: after that massacre the Decepticons would never be able to get into fighting strength again.  A cry distracted him from his reverie and he saw that one of the Autobots had just pulled a young child out of the rubble; his mother and father were dead

"Bring the child here" Astrotrain commanded

The Autobot complied quickly and handed the young one to the new leader: he was banged up and beaten but not broken

"Hush young one: he's gone; he won't hurt you anymore, I won't let him" he cooed to the little femme

The child curled into a ball and hugged Astrotrain as if her very life depended on it.  The Autobot, Backstreet, then saw that not all Decepticons were like Galvatron and Megatron.  And it brightened his heart to know it

**The End**


End file.
